


Slow Day

by susiephalange



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Dancing, Embaressment, F/M, Fluff, Nurse!Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 12:04:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6905710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/susiephalange/pseuds/susiephalange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe a dance with the doctor will pass the time on such a slow day. Or will it lead to complications...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slow Day

There was a myth you heard once in your five years about the Medbay you worked in - of something called a slow day. It was a day, according to legend, when nobody had a boo boo or got hurt in a firefight or forbid it happen yet again - it would be the third time this week - an accident down in engineering.

This myth had been a joke you'd heard whilst performing surgery on a red-shirted member of the U.S.S. Enterprise, from the mouth of none other than Dr Leonard "Bones" McCoy himself. He said it flippantly - and yet, somehow, it never came.

Until today.

Whilst the ship docked in a neighboring planet to restock on fuel and allow the crew a day off, you stayed on board, cleaning around the Medbay. The life of a nurse would never be as busy as a CMO like Bones, but with the slow day like today, you could actually hear yourself think. Muddle around - hum. And when you remembered a melody from Earth, sing.

It was just a tune sung under your breath, but soon, you abandoned sorting the bandages by strength and width and began to dance to the melody like you would've if there had been the proper music from a proper player at a proper dance.

But apparently it was a good dance to be considered distracting , or at least, considered something good because your boss had walked in at one point and cleared his throat like usual and scared you.

You gasped, fixed your hemline and looked to the floor.

"Don't stop on my account, Nurse _______," Bones chuckled, moving past you to the bandages you had been sorting. "Now, what have we here? It's a day off, and you're sortin'?"

You blushed. "Sir, I was bored. It's a slow day, and I needed to keep myself busy doing something petty. I really should resume -,"

The CMO held a hand up in protest. "You stay right there, Nurse ________, I'll find you some proper music." You watched as Bones made his way to the system, where he typed in the name of an old classical song from Earth into the interface. Within seconds, the sound of string instruments was in the room. "That better?"

You nodded, feeling a blush take your cheeks. It was then you realized it was an occasion that had never took place before - just you, Bones and an empty Medbay. Cautiously, you stepped forward, arms outstretched to the characteristically grumbly grump of a man. An eyebrow was raised, but as soon as you put his arms on the right place to waltz, he understood.

"How'd you know I could dance?" He whispered, as the pair of you glided over the empty Medbay floor.

You shrugged. "Lucky guess, sir," you confessed, "but it seems you're really good at it. Did you take lessons?"

Bones laughed. "You didn't?"

"I used to watch my parents dance back on Earth, when they thought nobody was looking. Picked it up."

Bones smiled. It was almost a foreign look to the usual frown he donned, but you liked it. "You're a natural, ________."

You cocked your head slightly, and guiding the both of you from collision into a bed, remarked, "And you're not?"

There was a pause in the repertoire, then, "Had to learn for my wedding." You took lead of the dance, as Bones was a million miles away, daydreaming, "We danced the whole night; I still have the callouses from those shoes, darlin'." He said wistfully.

"That sounds amazing, sir," you smiled.

Bones stopped suddenly, his eyes seeming to focus properly on you. At once his hands dropped from your sides, and he took a step backward.

"Dr McCoy?" You asked, reaching toward him. But he took another step away before you could reach him, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have danced with you, you're my superior officer - I'm sorry," you turned to the music player and shut it off.

"Report as usual here for tomorrow," was all he said. At that, he walked away.

 

 

The next day came, but you couldn't bear to rise from your bed in your room. Not because of sickness or the lack of will, but, believably, embarrassment. If you reported to Dr McCoy, then all you would think about would be the inappropriate relations you had the day previous with the man. He was your boss! Your commanding officer! And you'd danced with him.

You expected it to be issued as a sick day when you didn't arrive, one less out of the others you had stashed up - but what you didn't expect was the company you soon had.

"Nurse ________?" The voice of Captain Kirk resonated from the outside of your room's door. "________, you know it's me, open the damn door or I will."

You smiled faintly at his words, and pressed the entry button for your friend to come in. As Jim came in, you couldn't help but wonder why out of all the ship's staff he could've sent, he chose himself to visit you.

"Hey Jim," you greeted.

The Captain frowned. "You don't look sick...what makes you not want to attend work today?"

Straight to the point, as always. You blushed at the thought of McCoy, and looking down, reasoned, "I - I can't go back there...I made myself look stupid."

Jim laughed, showing his wide smile. "What, and I haven't? I'm still Captain and I've done more idiotic things than mostly all of this ship's crew."

"Not like that," You shook your head slowly, and began to confess, "I danced with Dr McCoy yesterday in the Medbay, and I made myself look awfully unprofessional."

"I see," Jim nodded. "Maybe if you go back -,"

"No!" You protested, hugging your knees. You shouldn't. You wouldn't. You couldn't.

"You will go back, and that's an order, ______," Jim smiled smugly at his power over you, "and you will act like nothing happened. You pretend, and then life will go on. You got me?"

You nodded faintly. "I - okay. Yeah. I got you."

 

 

Later that day, in the busiest hour you'd ever seen the Medbay, you returned to your post, excusing the substitute nurse who had taken your shift when you hadn't attended. Midway through removing a metal splinter from an engineer, you heard a cough behind you, and not one which belonged to a patient.

Leonard.

"You okay, Nurse _______?" He asked.

You continued to fix up the wound, dabbing antiseptic onto the surface. Without turning, you answered him. "Yes, I'm well, Dr McCoy, and you?"

You could almost hear his frown as you told your patient they were free to go.

"Yeah, I'm good. Look, yesterday -,"

You spun around, and smiled at the man who you couldn't help but feel an attraction to even though he was your boss and would never reciprocate the feelings.

"What about it? We danced, we talked, we left. That's all," you declared, and from the corner of your eye, noticed an open gash on a red shirted member of the Enterprise, and gestured lightly to them. "If you'll excuse me, Doctor, I need to a-attend to medical business." You could've sworn if your voice hadn't quivered, you would've sounded like you meant it.

At this, you rushed off to the patient, and following the procedures, had the gash cleaned and stitched in no time. Many more of these incidents kept your hands full, and by the end of your shift, you felt weary. From both the exertion of the work as a nurse and from ignoring the side wards glances Bones would give you.

As you began to remove your gloves and examine the stains to be removed from your blue uniform, you heard him call to you. "Nurse ______, a word?"

You froze on the spot. You'd done all the Captain had asked you to - coming to work was hard enough, but now this? You wanted to run. Hide. Maybe cry a bit. You had put your heart on a silver platter and he had rejected it.

"Of course," you replied quickly, facing him.

The CMO took your hand and led you to the supply closet, where you vividly remember sorting bandages only a day ago. His bright eyes were hooded in a sadness, and wrought inside, you wanted to help him. A hearty silence was thick between the pair of you, then,

"It was not your fault yesterday," Bones began, "I lost myself - and for a second, I thought you were her -,"

"Sir," you whispered, but he continued.

"- and I can't risk another relationship like that. I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want another disastrous marriage. I - I don't want to hurt you."

Unbidden, you felt a tear slip from your eyes. "Leonard," you murmured, cupping his face. "I care for you deeply, and I know how it feels to be left broken by love. I won't do that to you, I would never. And if you need time, I can give it to you." He was too quiet under your hand, and you blurted out, "Just - just say something. Anything."

A small smile stretched Bone' face. "I love you too, _________."

"I didn't say it, sir," You breathed.

He nodded. "I know. You've been thinking it for five years."

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any requests, find me on Tumblr at @susiephalange, or [@phalangewrites](https://phalangewrites.tumblr.com/request_conditions) ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ✿


End file.
